Boon, R. 2010. Pooley's trees of eastern South Africa, a complete guide. Flora & Fauna Publications Trust, Durban.
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Rothmannia capensis Thunb.
Common names: Cape gardenia, common rothmannia, wild gardenia (Eng.); Kaapse katjiepiering, wildekatjiepiering (Afr.); modulatshwene (Northern Sotho); mukubudu (Tshivenda); umphazane-mkhulu (isiZulu); isithebe, umzukuza, ibolo (isiXhosa).
SA Tree No: 693
Medium to tall tree, 7–15(–25) m high. Leaves opposite, occasionally in whorls of three, clustered towards the end of the branches, elliptic, 75–100 × 25–40 mm, leathery, dark shiny green, paler beneath, hairy pockets (domatia) present on the undersurface, margins entire, wavy, tip tapering or rounded, base tapering; petiole almost absent. The upper expanded part of the calyx never splitting, always bearing filiform to linear lobes; the bases somewhat widened but always clearly separated by sinuses. Flowers are widely bell-shaped, up to 80 mm long, 60 – 70 diam., white to creamy yellow with maroon streaks in the throat. Flowering time: early to late summer (December–February).
Occurs on forest margins and rocky outcrops from the Western Cape to Botswana.
Rothmannia fischeri (K.Schum.) Bullock subsp. fischeri
Common name: woodland false-gardenia, scented bells (Eng.)
SA Tree No: 694
Shrub or small tree, 2–8 m high. Leaves opposite, occasionally in whorls of three, lanceolate to elliptical or broadly elliptical or narrowly obovate, 35–90 × 20–50 mm, leathery, dark shiny green, hairy pockets (domatia) present on the undersurface, apex and base tapering, margins entire, wavy; petiole up to 10 mm long. Flowers creamy with pink or purple markings in the throat, corolla tube funnel-shaped, 100 × 80 mm.
The upper expanded part of the calyx often splitting, with lobes 1–9(–18) mm long. The corolla tube is gradually funnel-shaped or has a narrow cylindrical lower half and is funnel-shaped above, 43–80 × 13–30 mm, wide at the opening; lobes 18–25 mm long.
Flowering time: spring to late summer (October–February).
Occurs in central Zimbabwe, Mozambique, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces in semi-deciduous woodland, thickets and mixed evergreen forest patches, often on rocky hillsides or koppies, or near streams.
Rothmannia fischeri (K.Schum.) Bullock subsp. moramballae (Hiern) Bridson
Common name: sand false-gardenia (Eng.)
SA Tree No: 694.1
The upper expanded part of the calyx often splitting, with short lobes 1–3 mm long. The corolla tube is narrowly cylindrical in the lower part and approximately campanulate above, 50–70 × 20–30 mm, wide at the mouth, with the cylindrical part at least half the length of the campanulate part; lobes 25–35 mm long.
Flowering time: spring to late summer (October–February), after rain.
Occurs in moist places in mixed evergreen forests, sandy forests or riverbanks in KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe.
Rothmannia globosa (Hochst.) Keay
Common names: September bells, bell gardenia (Eng.); klokkiesvalskatjiepiering (Afr.); umgubhe (isiXhosa); umphazane (isiZulu); thudwane (Tsivenda); sikoba (SiSwati)
SA Tree No: 695
Evergreen or briefly deciduous tree, 4–7(–12) m high. Leaves opposite, elliptic to lanceolate, 40–140 × 20–50 mm, dark green above, paler beneath, midrib and side veins yellowish to paler green tinged reddish, raised beneath, hairy pockets (domatia) present on the undersurface, margin entire, broadly tapering tip, base tapering; petiole up 10 mm long. The upper expanded part of the calyx never splitting, always bearing filiform to linear lobes; the bases somewhat widened but always clearly separated by sinuses. Flowers bell-shaped, 25 × 35 mm, creamywhite, yellowish in throat with pink speckles within. They appear singly or in clusters along short side branches, appearing in profusion, usually before the leaves.
Flowering time: winter to spring (July–November), often flowers after rain in July, and again in September.
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type:
SA Distribution:
Soil type:
Flowering season:
PH:
Flower colour:
Aspect:
Gardening skill:
Special Features:
Horticultural zones
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type:
SA Distribution:
Soil type:
Flowering season:
PH:
Flower colour:
Aspect:
Gardening skill:
Special Features:
Horticultural zones
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type:
SA Distribution:
Soil type:
Flowering season:
PH:
Flower colour:
Aspect:
Gardening skill:
Special Features:
Horticultural zones
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type:
SA Distribution:
Soil type:
Flowering season:
PH:
Flower colour:
Aspect:
Gardening skill:
Special Features:
Horticultural zones
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type:
SA Distribution:
Soil type:
Flowering season:
PH:
Flower colour:
Aspect:
Gardening skill:
Special Features:
Horticultural zones
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type:
SA Distribution:
Soil type:
Flowering season:
PH:
Flower colour:
Aspect:
Gardening skill:
Special Features:
Horticultural zones
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type:
SA Distribution:
Soil type:
Flowering season:
PH:
Flower colour:
Aspect:
Gardening skill:
Special Features:
Horticultural zones
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type:
SA Distribution:
Soil type:
Flowering season:
PH:
Flower colour:
Aspect:
Gardening skill:
Special Features:
Horticultural zones
Plant Attributes:
Plant Type:
SA Distribution:
Soil type:
Flowering season:
PH:
Flower colour:
Aspect:
Gardening skill:
Special Features:
Horticultural zones
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